Monday’s Radikal daily newspaper says that Turkey vetoed the participation of Israeli in the NATO summit to be held in Chicago on May 20-21. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu informed NATO colleagues about the Turkish decision at a meeting on April 19 in Brussels. Other NATO members reportedly voiced objections to the Turkish veto, saying that ...

Saturday’s Cumhuriyet daily newspaper reviews the developments which led to escalation of tensions between Ankara and Baghdad. The paper says that the attitudes of AKP government brought ties between Turkey and Iraq to the verge of break. According to Cumhuriyet, on the eve of the recent elections in Iraq AKP government attempted to shape political ...

Former Deputy Chief of the General Staff Çevik Bir told the prosecutor that he had just implemented the orders of the government, the National Security Council (MGK) and the Prime Minister, Hürriyet daily newspaper reports. Rt. Gen. Bir said that the activities of the Western Working Group were “legitimate.” He added that the documents ...

Sabah daily newspaper says that five US giants decided to make investments in Turkey as the Turkish government announced new incentives for investors. The paper says that Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan was holding contacts in the US. He meets representatives of leading US companies to give details about the new incentives. “American businessmen ...

Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi is reported by Sabah daily newspaper as saying that the Syrian authorities were working to find two missing Turkish journalists. Makdissi has rejected media reports that the journalists – Adem Özköse and Hamit Coşkun – were held by the Syrian authorities. “We don’t intend ...

Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek said Turkey’s failure to become member of the EU would not be “the end of the world.” Yesterday Çiçek held a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen. Çiçek said he was grateful for the support given by Finland in Turkey’s EU entry bid. “The EU ...

In a press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed support for Annan’s plan in Syria, Sabah daily newspaper reports. He noted that the Syran regime continued to carry out bloodsheds, and stressed that Syrian tanks had to be pulled back to the barracks. Erdoğan noted that the Greek Cypriots ...

Istanbul prosecutor has managed to identify the Israeli officials who participated in a deadly flotilla raid on a Turkish-owned aid ship in international waters in 2010, Sabah daily newspaper says. Activists who were on Mavi Marmara ship when the raid took place have examined photos shown by the prosecutor. One of the witnesses said that Gavriel Ashkenazi,...

Today’s papers give extensive front-page coverage to storms that ripped through Turkey yesterday.Hürriyet daily newspaper reports that electric poles and trees were uprooted by the strong wind. The winds have blown off roofs and sunk fishing boats. A construction scaffold in Istanbul collapsed in the storm. Filming for ‘‘Skyfall,...

Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq, comes to Turkey today. Hürriyet daily newspaper reports that during his visit Barzani was going to hold meetings with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. He will meet also Iraqi Vice-President Tariq al-...

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in China for an official visit. Yesterday’s Zaman daily newspaper noted that the visit was expected to give impetus to the development of ties between Turkey and China. Zaman described the visit as “historic,” and said that this was the first visit of a Turkish Prime Minister to China in the last 27 ...

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the “legitimate demands of the Syrian people must be met, right here, right now” and in what appeared to be a reference to a possible military action, stated that it would be imperative for the international community to defend Syrian people's “right to self-defense” if the UN Security Council ...

The State Department will continue to look movements in Armenian- Turkish rapprochement, Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said at the Daily Press Briefing, on March ۳۰. “Of course, those issues, those topics are a constant source of – or an issue that we discuss with Turkey and with Armenia, in fact. So we want to see the rapprochement process ...

Police used tear gas and batons to disperse a group of about ۴۰ supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who tried to approach a congress hall in İstanbul where representatives of more than ۷۰ nations gathered to discuss Syria. Tensions escalated when another group, consisting of opponents of Assad, confronted the pro-Assad group. Police formed ...

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his government is committed to overcoming obstacles to Turkey's democratization and prosperity bid created by certain groups which he called “intriguers.” The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader was speaking during the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) ...

Turkey suspended all activities at its embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said, as the security situation in Syria has deteriorated further. Citing Turkish diplomatic sources, the state-run Anatolia news agency said Turkey has also temporarily recalled its ambassador to the Syrian capital. Sources said Ambassador ...

The Turkish General Staff has said the initial findings of a report suggest that technical failure caused a recent helicopter crash in Afghanistan, which left ۱۲ Turkish troops and four Afghans dead. The General Staff posted a statement on its website on Monday that said an investigative team of ۱۲ experts sent to Kabul after the helicopter crash has ...

A Turkish court has rejected a request for former military chief retired Gen. İlker Başbuğ, who is currently jailed in a coup plot probe, to be tried by the Supreme State Council instead of a specially authorized court. İlkay Sezer, Başbuğ's lawyer, filed a request for his client, who is currently jailed in a coup plot probe, to be tried by the Supreme ...

Turkish truckers are being pounded with high fuel surcharges in Iran, and this is costing Turkey an extra ۵۶ million euros every year, according to the business interest group representing truckers in İstanbul. Ruhi Engin Özmen, chairman of the board of directors at the International Road Transport Union (UND), told Today's Zaman that Iran imposes ...

Violence and provocation reached a dangerous level on Tuesday in illegal early Nevruz celebrations -- a spring festival mostly celebrated in Turkey by Kurds -- when two police officers were shot by unknown individuals who opened fire on police in the southeastern province of Cizre. Pro-Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) supporters held Nevruz celebrations ...